Regional Instability and Transnational Security Threats in West and Central Africa: Implications for International Peacebuilding
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajds.v3i2.5609Keywords:
Peacebuilding, Regional Instability, Terrorism and Governance, Transnational Security Threats, West and Central AfricaAbstract
West and Central Africa are now at the heart of growing instability, where local conflicts and cross-border security threats are putting serious pressure on both African efforts and international peace missions. This study investigates on how weak governance, terrorist groups, criminal networks, and separatist struggles have come together to create a complicated and fragile situation. It further investigates and focuses on key examples such as Boko Haram operations in the Lake Chad region, the Tuareg rebellions in Mali, and the crisis between English-speaking and French-speaking communities in Cameroon. These challenges do not stop at national borders. They take advantage of poor institutions, open frontiers, and deep social and economic divides. Due to this situation, violence keeps reoccurring in many communities. Thus, the research shows that heavy reliance on military solutions, most especially those led by foreign countries or large peacekeeping forces, often fails to deal with the deeper problems that fuel these conflicts. Instead, the study suggests a different approach. It calls for stronger cooperation between African countries, better political leadership that includes all voices, and local peace efforts that are rooted in trust and community needs. True and lasting peace will only come when security efforts are combined with long-term development, open dialogue to prevent conflict, and support for communities to recover and grow stronger. More so, the findings of this research encourage a major change in how global actors support peace in Africa. Instead of waiting to react to crises, there should be a clear focus on protecting people, building stronger institutions, and creating conditions where peace can take root and last over time.
Downloads
References
Abdullah, I., & Rashid, I. (2004). Rebel movements. In A. Adebajo & I. Rashid (Eds.), West Africa’s security challenges: Building peace in a troubled region (pp. 169–194). Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Adebajo, A. (2004). Pax West Africana? Regional security mechanisms. In A. Adebajo & I. Rashid (Eds.), West Africa’s security challenges: Building peace in a troubled region (pp. 291–318). Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Adedeji, A. (2004). ECOWAS: A retrospective journey. In A. Adebajo & I. Rashid (Eds.), West Africa’s security challenges: Building peace in a troubled region (pp. 21–50). Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Aidoo, R., & Hess, S. (2015). Non-interference 2.0: China’s evolving foreign policy towards a changing Africa. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 44(1), 107–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/186810261504400105
Allansson, M., Melander, E., & Themnér, L. (2017). Organized violence, 1989–2016. Journal of Peace Research, 54(4), 574–587.
Annan, N., Beseng, M., Crawford, G., & Kewir, J. K. (2021). Civil society, peacebuilding from below and shrinking civic space: The case of Cameroon’s ‘anglophone’ conflict. Conflict, Security & Development, 21(6), 697–725. https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2021.1997454
Arksey, H., O’Malley, L. (2005). Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616
Azevedo, M. (1987). The post-Ahidjo era in Cameroon. Current History, 86(520), 217–220, 230.
Badache, F., Hellmüller, S., & Salaymeh, B. (2022). Conflict management or conflict resolution: How do major powers conceive the role of the United Nations in peacebuilding? Contemporary Security Policy, 43(4), 547–571. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2022.2147334
Bah, M. S. (2004). Micro-disarmament in West Africa: ECOWAS Moratorium on small arms and light weapons. African Security Review, 13(3).
Bamfo, N. (2013). The political and security challenges facing ECOWAS in the twenty-first century: Testing the limits of an organization’s reputation. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(3), 12–23.
Benabdallah, L., & Large, D. (2020). Development, security, and China’s evolving role in Mali (China-Africa Research Initiative Working Paper No. 40). Johns Hopkins University.
Benjaminsen, T. A., & Ba, B. (2009). Farmer–herder conflicts, pastoral marginalisation and corruption: A case study from the inland Niger Delta of Mali. Geographical Journal, 175(1), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4959.2008.00312.x
Beseng, M., Crawford, G., & Annan, N. (2023). From ‘anglophone problem’ to ‘anglophone conflict’ in Cameroon: Assessing prospects for peace. Africa Spectrum. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397231155244
Blyth, F. (2013). Is the French military the best counterterrorism response in Mali? The Global Observatory. http://www.theglobalobservatory.org/analysis/498-is-the-french-military-the-best-counterterrorism-response-in-mali.html
Cabestan, J.-P. (2018). China’s evolving role as a UN peacekeeper in Mali (Special Report No. 432). U.S. Institute of Peace. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2018-09/sr432-chinas-evolving-role-as-a-un-peacekeeper-in-mali.pdf
Cabestan, J.-P. (2020). China’s military base in Djibouti: A microcosm of China’s growing competition with the United States and new bipolarity. Journal of Contemporary China, 29(125), 731–747. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2019.1704994
Cederman, L.-E., Wimmer, A., & Min, B. (2010). Why do ethnic groups rebel? New data and analysis. World Politics, 62(1), 87–119. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043887109990219
Cho, J. (2025). Making peace by fighting war: Competing visions of conflict management and African agency in the “new scramble for Africa.” Contemporary Security Policy, 46(3), 522–550. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2025.2500262
Clarkson, A. (2024). Mali’s Russian-backed security approach is a lot like France’s. World Politics Review. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/mali-russia-wagner-security/
Clausen, M.-L., & Albrecht, P. (2021). Interventions since the Cold War: From statebuilding to stabilization. International Affairs, 97(4), 1203–1220. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab084
Cook, D. (2013). Boko Haram: Reversals and retrenchment. Combating Terrorism Center. http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-haram-reversals-and-retrenchment
Daigne, E. M. (2012). Strategic implications of emerging threats to West African countries [Master’s thesis, U.S. Army War College]. U.S. Army War College. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA561474
Deltenre, D., & Liégeois, M. (2016). Filling a leaking bathtub? Peacekeeping in Africa and the challenge of transnational armed rebellions. African Security, 9(1), 1–20.
Ding, S. (2016). The political rationale of China’s deliberately limited role in the Libyan Civil War. In D. Henriksen & A. K. Larssen (Eds.), Political rationale and international consequences of the war in Libya (pp. 86–102). Oxford University Press.
Dixon, W. J. (1996). Third-party techniques for preventing conflict escalation and promoting peaceful settlement. International Organization, 50(4), 653–681. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300033543
Dowd, C. (2015). Grievances, governance and Islamist violence in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 53(4), 505–531. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X15000737
Elfversson, E. (2015). Providing security or protecting interests? Government interventions in violent communal conflicts in Africa. Journal of Peace Research, 52(6), 791–805. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343315597968
Finkel, S. E., McCauley, J. F., Belasco, C. A., & Neureiter, M. (2016). Contextual violence and support for violent extremism: Evidence from the Sahel. https://cidcm.umd.edu/sites/cidcm.umd.edu/files/mccauley_cidcm_paper.pdf
Forest, J. F. (2012). Confronting the terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria. JSOU Report, 2, 1–178.
Gleditsch, N. P., Wallensteen, P., Eriksson, M., Sollenberg, M., & Strand, H. (2002). Armed conflict 1946–2001: A new dataset. Journal of Peace Research, 39(5), 615–637.
Gourley, S. M. (2012). Linkages between Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda: A potential deadly synergy. Global Security Studies, 3, 1–14.
Haacke, J. (2010, January). 8 The ASEAN Regional Forum and transnational challenges. In J. Haacke & N. Morada, Cooperative security in the Asia-Pacific: The ASEAN Regional Forum (pp. 124–150). https://shorturl.at/h0sRm
Harrington, A. (2018). Religious violence and genocide in the Central African Republic. Journal of Religion and Violence, 6(2), 245–266. https://doi.org/10.5840/jrv20186241
Hinshaw, D. (2013). Timbuktu terrorist site shows terrorist reach. The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323926104578278030474477210.html
International Crisis Group. (2012). Mali: The need for a determined and coordinated international action (Africa Briefing No. 90). http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/west-africa/mali/b090-mali-the-need-for-determined-and-coordinated-international-action.aspx
Lacher, W. (2012). Organized crime and conflict in the Sahel–Sahara region (Carnegie Papers). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. http://carnegieendowment.org/files/sahel_sahara.pdf
Lanteigne, M. (2019). China’s UN peacekeeping in Mali and comprehensive diplomacy. The China Quarterly, 239, 635–655. https://doi.org/10.1017/S030574101800173X
Larémont, R. R. (2011). Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb: Terrorism and counterterrorism in the Sahel. African Security, 4(4), 242–268.
Large, D. (2008). China & the contradictions of “non-interference” in Sudan. Review of African Political Economy, 35(115), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/03056240802011568
MINUSMA. (2013). MINUSMA: United Nations Stabilizing Mission in Mali. United Nations. http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minusma/background.shtml
Mousseau, M. (2011). Urban poverty and support for Islamist terror: Survey results of Muslims in fourteen countries. Journal of Peace Research, 48(1), 35–47.
Obi, C. (2009). Economic Community of West African States on the ground: Comparing peacekeeping in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and Côte d’Ivoire. African Security, 2(2–3).
Paris, R. (2024). The future of UN peace operations: Pragmatism, pluralism or statism? International Affairs. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiae182
Pham, J. P. (2012). Boko Haram’s evolving threat. Africa Security Brief, 20, 1–7.
Popay, J., Roberts, H., Sowden, A., Petticrew, M., Arai, L., Rodgers, M., & Duffy, S. (2006). Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews: A product from the ESRC methods programme. University of Lancaster. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1018.4643
Raleigh, C. (2015). Urban violence patterns across African states. International Studies Review, 17(1), 90–106.
Rao, S. (2013). Conflict and stabilisation in Mali and the Sahel region (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report). University of Birmingham.
Rashid, I. (2004). West Africa’s post-Cold War security challenges. In A. Adebajo & I. Rashid (Eds.), West Africa’s security challenges: Building peace in a troubled region (pp. 383–395). Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Renard, T. (2010). Terrorism and other transnational threats in the Sahel: What role for the EU? Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation Policy Brief, 1–8. http://www.globalct.org
Security Council Report. (2012). Threats to peace and security in West Africa and the Sahel region. http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2012-02/lookup_c_glKWLeMTIsG_b_7966245.php
Sesay, A. (2005). Can ECOWAS re-invent the nationalist dream in West Africa? Reflections on the Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. In A. Fawole & C. Ukeje (Eds.), The crisis of the state and regionalism in West Africa: Identity, citizenship, and conflict (pp. 191–211). CODESRIA.
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature reviews as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Souaré, I. K. (2010). A critical assessment of security challenges in West Africa (ISS Situation Report). https://shorturl.at/r0S57
Taje, M. (2010). Vulnerabilities and factors of insecurities in the Sahel: West African challenges. OECD. http://www.oecd.org/swac/publications/45830109.pdf
Tanchum, M. (2012). Al-Qa’ida’s West African advance: Nigeria’s Boko Haram, Mali’s Touareg, and the spread of Salafi Jihadism. Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, 6(2), 75–90.
Ukeje, C. (2005). From economic cooperation to collective security: ECOWAS and the changing imperatives of sub-regionalism in West Africa. In A. Fawole & C. Ukeje (Eds.), The crisis of the state and regionalism in West Africa: Identity, citizenship, and conflict (pp. 141–160). CODESRIA.
Uzodike, U. O., & Maiangwa, B. (2012). Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria: Causal factors and central problematic. African Renaissance, 9(1), 91–118.
Zyck, S. A., & Muggah, R. (2012). Preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention: Obstacles and opportunities. Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, 1(1), 68–75. https://doi.org/10.5334/sta.ac
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Idiong Omodot Udim, Nweke Edunna Daniel, Gabriel Tobiloba Abioye
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
